Creating a blogging strategy is treated by many businesses like creating a New Year’s resolution. It is started with the best of intentions, but soon becomes a distracting, daunting task that is easily forgotten about until “next year”. At some point, “next year” doesn’t happen, so don’t wait for it!
The new year is just around the corner – can you believe it? What marketing strategies are you implementing in your business in the new year? Blogging should still be a cornerstone piece of your marketing strategy. Here are 4 commitments to put into action in the new year:
- Commit to the time. Pretty basic, right? Yet every day I see examples of blogs not being kept up (including mine, folks, admitting shamefully!). I know business owners who want to start blogging but “don’t have the time” to blog, nor do they know what to blog about. Set aside at least an hour a day to plan your writing around a type of theme — could be a holiday, a sporting event, or something around a descriptor of your business. For example, compare certain services or aspects of your business to that of a redwood tree. Add a tip your client can use that day. Still stuck? Ask your followers for suggestions. Still stuck, part deux? Google your competition and see what they’re writing about.
- Commit to the people.I have said this many times before, so it bears repeating here: you can’t do it all yourself. Whew! Now that that’s settled, I’ll explain this point. Many solepreneurs, entrepreneurs, and business owners don’t have the manpower to commit to the blogging process, yet they know they must blog for their business. Two solutions, either to incorporate together or use separately:
- Engage contributors. Ask colleagues and business associates (not competitors) if they would consider writing a monthly blog post. This gains more views from their readers while maintaining consistent content, delivered consistently.
- Curate content.Hand-pick the best articles and deliver in a weekly post from a platform such as Paper.li or Scoop.It — or, even better — your own newsletter or blog.
- Commit to the process. Be accountable to both your audience and yourself. Write down the process for creating and posting your company blog on a Google calendar, Google Docs or notepad. Share these notes with your team; afterward, create a editorial/posting calendar so you and your team will know which posts (and any attachments) are scheduled to post on which days and on what social media platforms. Marketing your business is about trial and error, measuring the success of each campaign, and commitment of time. Strive for consistency in both posting days/times and voice, and prepare your team to proactively respond to comments and reviews that will begin flowing.
- Commit to measure. In order to find out what your audience wants you to talk about, measure your posts to see if anyone has shared your content to their networks through other social media platforms. Keep an eye on which posts are getting the most activity; this will tell you what someone may be potentially interested in, and, by how much they are
reading/sharing, where they may be in your sales funnel. TIP: moderate comments by responding in a more timely fashion and using the person’s first name. By knowing what is being shared or commented about, I will know what interests my audience. Still not sure? Put up a poll in Facebook and/or create a hashtag in Twitter, and simply askyour audience.
A goal without a strategy is just a wish. What commitments are you making for the new year? Share these with an accountability partner and stretch yourself toward success!
Now it’s your turn! What other commitments would you add to this list?
Be strategic. Be visible. Be found.
